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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 8148293" data-attributes="member: 16069">Dark Squad in Meet the UthgardtSession #027c I’m Going To Change.Dark Squad (in alphabetical order, no egos here).Buggles (played by Stu) Male Wood Elf Fighter Lvl 2/Rogue Lvl 3New Tricks (played by Bear) Male Tabaxi Warlock Lvl 5Ramshambo (played by Kev) Male Half-Elf Rogue Lvl 5Vincenzo (played by Haggis) Male Shifter (Wildhunt) Druid Lvl 5NPCsDaktari Male Human Uthgardt Sky Pony Barbarian Lvl 5<s>Garumn Male Mountain Dwarf Paladin of Moradin Lvl 5 </s>RIP**Trapped in the land of the bad dead ancestors.Buggles’ undead servitorGwen Female Duergar Skeleton, in full-face helm and armour NPC hangers-on, rescued prisoners of the OrcsGeradil the “Inconceivable”, aging trapper (Male Human)Spandwick the Magic Gnome, ex-stage mesmerist (Male Gnome)Bel, the beautiful and lovely wife of Spandwick (Female Gnome)So, we’re out of the land of the bad dead ancestors and back to… reality, and in the tent Old Mare, the Uthgardt wise-woman.The PCs are a little groggy but otherwise unharmed, they all appeared back in the tent about an hour ago, it has taken them as long to regain consciousness, take food and drink, and start chatting.So, what’s next- the answer being repeated attempts to get Vinnie to tell his colleagues where he went, and what he got up to.Keep in mind that we all saw what we saw around the VTT (i.e. everything) but the conceit is Vinnie saw what he saw (and experienced), same for Daktari- but the other three guys, well they just shared a spot in hell.And Daktari is an NPC, so the other three PCs don’t particularly care about him.Note I used the word hell up above, that’s not my word – that’s a word used by the players.There have been e-mails and questions since the session- did we die, did we go to hell, that kind of thing, but the DM is playing it cagey (yes, I am). You saw and experienced what you saw and experienced- as described/presented to you, dear player.You’re conscious now, so clearly you can’t have been dead, or else… well, there are one, two, some, many, several explanations for events- pick one, work with it, if you don’t like it then pick another. What difference would it make if I told you- yes, you died, or else- no, it was all just a dream.Nothing changes, you’re still alive and here.[ATTACH=full]130119[/ATTACH]Here being Old Mare's yurt. The gang are back together again, although... where's Vinnie's special friend, Courana?There follows lots and lots more chatter, which branches off in a myriad directions as Old Mare is interrogated, several of the members of the Dark Squad (but very mostly Newt) are really not happy that she sent them to the land of the bad dead ancestors to fail. To die.So, the adventurers learn the following-1) Old Mare didn’t know that the seventh bad dead ancestor was missing, she does however know that the ancestor in question was not a former Uthgardt chieftain like all of the others. The missing ancestor is/was called Nightshade, and she was an evil Uthgardt wise-woman/shaman, accused while alive of being a fiend and/or a hag. So, that’s worth knowing.2) Next up- the Uthgardt tribe have departed, there’s just Old Mare left from the barbarian (modest) horde, but hang on- how can that be, we were only in the land of the bad dead ancestors for a day- but we’ll get to that, keep reading. Daktari is, of course, distraught- he looks to Vinnie for solace and support in his hour of need.3) You’ll also note in the above picture- Courana, the lady’s maid the Dark Squad rescued from the orcs, is also missing- you remember the one, screamed a lot and latterly started to get googly-eyed over brave Vincenzo. Well, long story short- she and Timor really hit it off, a whirlwind romance apparently. Old Mare conducted the ceremony, the two got hitched, and like the rest of the tribe- skedaddled back up north.4) Last up- the Dark Squad were in the land of the bad dead ancestors, or wherever they were, for- 24 days. I’ll write that again- the Dark Squad have been away from Old Mare’s tent for 24 days. The rest of the Sky Pony tribe headed north over a tenday ago, Courana married Timor about a tenday after Vinnie (and friends) departed this place, so- she held out for a while, but clearly the ready charms of the big barbarian chief won her over. Also the Dark Squad have 24 hours to get themselves ready to travel because Old Mare will be departing this place tomorrow.After yet more chat Daktari is officially welcomed into the Dark Squad, actually the big barbarian asks Vinnie- “I would like to come with yew Vinnie, my stallion… I mean, my friend?”Daktari is in the gang, for now.[Much discussion about the heaven/hell event, and lots and lots of other stuff 500 XP]Note in an effort to steer the story to the here and now Spandwick makes a speech, with a little help from his beautiful wife Bel- basically it’s this. Bel is fixed, Spandwick therefore wants to pick a few things up from their lonely hut in the wilds, and then head on to Castell Gwythyr, he wants to see his brother Erky. He- sorry, they (Spandwick & Bel)- want to re-join the world.It’s a tender moment, and it works- the PCs jump back into action, and cease- at least for a short while, their pondering and navel gazing.[Spandwick motivates the Dark Squad 100 XP]The Dark Squad also take a loud moment to reaffirm their intent- they’re going to find the seventh bad dead Uthgardt ancestor (the fiend/hag, Nightshade) and send them back to their barrow, and in the process rescue Garumn from the shadowy hell in which he presently resides.Go team Dark Squad!Just to note at this point the collective bothering by a variety of PCs (but very mostly Buggles) finally causes Vinnie to relent and tell his colleagues about his bathhouse fun, and his encounter with a massive turtle called Sheldon.After Vinnie’s revelation there follows yet more grouching from the various members of the Dark Squad who briefly sojourned in hell (again, their word). There is consternation in the ranks- but, let’s be realistic here, the players are not quibbling with the DMs judgement call. They’ve just got their elbows out and are looking for someone to complain to.Although, at some point during this clutter, Buggles makes something akin to the following statement- “I’m going to change.”This gets the biggest laugh of the night, and is a constant theme for all that follows.However in amongst the chatter is an idea- Newt has got it into his head (maybe) that the ‘thousand teeth’ referred to in one of the bad dead ancestor’s prophecies could be something to do with the dragon’s graveyard the Dark Squad visited earlier in their adventurers. It doesn’t, I’ll save you a little time dear reader.However, the spot is only a couple of hours away and so the Dark Squad make the journey, and take a look around. They also want to find out if Ashardalon has answered them. Remember Buggles found a message from Ashardalon here (‘I will be watching you’), and so Vinnie left a reply for the abomination- scratched on the bones of an ancient dragon skeleton (‘We need to talk’).The dragon graveyard is as it was, Newt however (ulterior motive) takes the opportunity to collect up a myriad bone fragments of long dead dragons- he’s started in on collecting for his DIY Home Weird Warlock Kit, for when he gets a lair.Note all the stuff the PCs stole from the land of the bad dead ancestors- which was chunk of junk for Newt (old bones, skulls, desiccated organs taken from ancient corpses- that kinda thing), alas disappeared when the pocket plane popped out of existence.However, the journey is not a bust- Ashardalon has replied to Vinnie’s missive. The new message states- ‘We do. I will come for you.’Just to make certain, the conversation so far is-Ashardalon: ‘I will be watching you.’Vinnie: ‘We need to talk.’Ashardalon: ‘We do. I will come for you.’So, Ashardalon will be along for a- ‘chat’. That’s nice- and now Vinnie is playing it cagey, the druid has doubts. Note, Vinnie’s translation of Ashardalon’s message was much watered down- with no threat present, something like- “It sez- Ashardalon agreez wiz uz, we will meet wid ‘im.”The fact that Ashardalon is ‘coming’ for the Dark Squad is only revealed when a full (and accurate) translation of the message is requested and gained from Newt- the warlock tabaxi can read any language remember.Is Ashardalon the bad guy? The good guy? Something in-between?[At the Dragon’s Graveyard again 250 XP]Mystery unsolved we head back to Old Mare’s tent, one last final chat and then there’s no time like the present- the Dark Squad (including Daktari) and with Geradil, Spandwick and Bel in tow, are heading off back into the Neverwinter Woods.First stop will be Spandwick and Bel’s hut in the wilds, although after a late start the gang only get a few miles into their journey before they have to set up camp for the night.Note- we’re in the month of Uktar now, and the snow is coming down, the temperature stays around the freezing mark for much of the day, drops a little during the night. So, the going is arduous and yet the adventurers for whatever reason (I’m as amazed as you are) are all getting on- pulling together. The Buggles ‘I am going to change’ joke is still being mined for all its worth, but whisper this- the short section we’ve played so far- between the return from the steppes/bathhouse/hell and now, they’re all playing nicely and quipping and riffing off each other.So, first night in camp and- stirges, lots of the little buggers, actually fifteen of them in two dense waves- and there are victims- including both Bel and Spandwick (but Vinnie, Ram and Newt also take hits). The gnome pair are close to death when they’re saved by quick work from Buggles and Ram, phew- that was close.[ATTACH=full]130120[/ATTACH]They HATE stirges. Which, I am happy to admit, is the entire reason the blood-sucking bastards are here.Note the fight comes to a climactic end when Newt, babbling and raving again, launches a fireball into the air and explodes it amongst the densest part of the stirge surge- killing nearly half of the flock, and also incinerating the upper reaches of a number of nearby trees.The ensuing fire does not, fortunately, take hold.[Flock of stirges 375 XP]The rest of the night passes without incident, and the next day- the same again, its tough going in places but the Dark Squad see it through, and arrive at Spandwick and Bel’s hut mid-afternoon.The rogues, travelling a little ahead of the main group (and remember this is Buggles’ home forest) creep up on and discover an orc nosing around the hut, and the sounds of commotion within. The pair tell their friends, and then- just before the discussion can begin regarding how best to play this, Buggles puts an arrow in the back of the orc outside of the hut.“I’m going to change!” Is the battle-cry.Remarkably the Buggles-shot orc survives, and starts bellowing, but not for long- Belphegor’s fiery blast ends its struggle, and then Buggles is quickly to the hut- through the window he sees another orc within, the orc also sees Buggles.The wood elf shoots the bad fellow- another hit, but another survivor, Buggles positions himself hidden behind the door to the building, and while situated there hears straining sounds coming from around the side of the building- another orc? Maybe.Vinnie follows Buggles in and with a produce flame ends the life of the badly wounded orc in the hut.At which point a hill giant, sans pants- it was mid toilet, straightens to its full height, strides around the corner of the hut and smashes its greatclub into Buggles- bloodying the wood elf in an instant, and also caving in a good six feet of the wooden structure.[ATTACH=full]130121[/ATTACH]Hill giant caught short.Newt hisses and a second later the great giant clutches at its eyes and roars, it’s blinded.The dirty tabaxi bastard (forgive me).Well, that was fun while it lasted- all of the members of the Dark Squad give it all they’ve got. Buggles crits the giant with Mongoose his magical scimitar, and then slices it again with his off-hand blade.Daktari rages, after a few choice words, and then begins cutting chunks out of the giant’s tree-trunk legs, the great beast screams at it dances and stumbles.Gwen skewers it.Vinnie bathes the thing in faerie fire- just in case it throws off the warlock-induced blindness.Ram stabs it up good and proper, the hill giant lashes out furiously, blindly swishing and swatting with its greatclub- managing only to slam the flat end once into Daktari, who in his rage ignores the hurt.Note the hill giant’s second save was… a ‘1’.There follows more slicing and cutting- Vinnie is the first to crack, “I feel zorry for zer poor fellow!”The giant is soon after critically wounded, it flees- and in a random direction, which as it turns out is directly through Gwen the Skeleton. The ex-duergar undead, skewers the beast with her piercing rapier rather than attempt to dodge the rushing panicked creature- she kills the giant dead. Alas the resulting collapse almost shatters Gwen, Buggles’ companion- when rescued from beneath the beast, has gone from full (52 HP) to 4 HP.The battle however is won.[Orcs and a hill giant 2000 XP]Newt, still working on his Grisly Warlock Home-Starter Kit attempts to remove the eyes from the fallen giant, alas the tabaxi manages to burst both ocular orbits attempting to prise them out.There follows a brief sojourn at the hut, Spandwick and Bel grab the few things they want to keep, and then after another motivating speech by the former- it’s on again.Into the cold and wilds- and that’s how it goes for the next two nights and days, with a bit more snow- but nothing that the Dark Squad can’t handle, all the way back to, at last- Castell Gwythyr.What the hell?[ATTACH=full]130122[/ATTACH]Castell Gwythyr, before and after."Oh, I've sent you the wrong map", I told the players, and then sent them the ruined version.Castell Gwythyr is a wreck, a ruin- and after a thorough search and a myriad checks from the investigations team (mostly Vinnie and Newt). The following information is recovered, or else inferred-1) Castell Gwythyr was destroyed by a very large red dragon- scorch marks here and there, even after the all the snow, one large dragon claw shaped footprint (over six feet long)- the other foot seemingly kicked down one of the five foot thick walls of the fortress. This was a very big dragon.2) The Dark Squad saw a huge ancient red dragon a while back! Newt suggested that the dragon could have been Ashardalon, the tabaxi thinks the abomination can change shape.3) This action here happened a while ago- note the Dark Squad (with not great rolls) can’t pin down exactly how long ago this all took place. They’ve been gone from Castell Gwythyr for over a month remember.4) The smallest charred fragments of bone are all that are found to indicate that many (all?) of the folk that lived in the Castell also perished here.5) Correction, a secret hiding place with a c/old fire pit is found- and scraps of scavenged ration packs, someone survived- Ram concludes. Later a set of small footprints are located by Vinnie, the tracks lead away from the Castell, heading- possibly, in the direction of Neverwinter. The footprints are at most only a few days old.6) Did Erky survive? He’s only a little guy- a gnome, surely they must have been Erky’s footprints, after all Lady Luck, Tymora, is in the little guy’s corner. Several fine speeches are made in an effort to buoy the spirits of Spandwick and Bel.[Lots of investigating in Castell Gwythyr 750 XP]The adventurers swear to get back to Neverwinter as soon as they can (with Geradil, Spandwick & Bel), they sincerely hope that they will find Erky alive and well there.They’re going to make every effort to find out what they can about- well, a dozen or so different things (they each have a list), and have sworn to find Erky, and to get Garumn rescued from the land of the bad dead ancestors (by finding Nightshade and sending her back).Next session- Downtime in Neverwinter, redux.Just a note from the kindly DM- we’re about thirty minutes into the film here, or so it seems to me- the gang are set up and pretty gnarly with it, this session- for some reason or other, they really started to enjoy each other’s company, and get along. Don’t get me wrong- they always ‘get along’ but there was a lot more warmth and bonhomie here. So, they seem to be in it together. Time then for the difficult middle section of the movie- something happens, it gets investigated or its arse kicked, and a new piece of the puzzle (mostly sky, no edges- or better still a corner) is found.I’m building something of my own for the next bit- although stealing stuff left, right and centre. I like to look at great fantasy maps and wonder what could happen here? So, I’ve got lots of bits of plot, a place to call ‘new’ home for the Dark Squad, a few new NPCs, and a veritable gang of villains. It seems I’m going to be drawing the picture on the jigsaw just ahead of the Dark Squad finding the pieces. That’s going to be fun- I enjoy that kind of thing.Also, just to say I’ll be putting together a separate post here with all of the ongoing prophecies and communiques the Dark Squad have uncovered to date- just so that the players can find it all in one place.Also, for no clear reason, I decided to copy and paste out all of the notes from the calendar section of Fantasy Grounds, just to show the adventures of the Dark Squad in diary form. I’ll also post that here.Cracking session fellers, as Stu (Buggles) e-mailed the next day- best one yet.Stay safe and well.Cheers the Dark Squad and goonalan.</blockquote>

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